| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 8 hr |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 5 hr |
| Cook: | 2 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup superfine baker’s sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- For the meringue: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pencil, trace two 8-inch-diameter circles, side-by-side, on the parchment paper.
- Beat the egg whites until fluffy in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Gradually add the superfine sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time, with the machine running on medium-low speed, until the mixture holds soft peaks. Beat in the cream of tartar and salt. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds stiff peaks, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Place the meringue in the piping bag. Pipe the meringue into two 8-inch circles on the prepared baking sheet using the traced circles as a guide. Bake until crisp, 2 hours. Turn off the oven and allow the meringues to cool completely while still in the oven, about 2 hours.
- For the cream: Beat the cream on high speed until thick using an electric hand mixer. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue to beat on high speed until the cream holds stiff peaks. Add the raspberries and beat until incorporated into the cream.
- Spread one-third of the cream over each meringue circle. Place 1 circle on top of the other to create 2 layers. Spread the remaining cream on the sides of the cake. Garnish with fresh raspberries if using, and freeze the cake until firm, 3 hours.
- For the syrup: Mix the raspberries, vinegar and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Lightly mash the raspberries using a fork. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thick, 25 to 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and allow to cool.
- To serve: Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Cut the cake into wedges and place on serving plates. Drizzle with the syrup and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 366 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 33 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 82 mg |
| Sodium | 77 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 366 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 33 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 82 mg |
| Sodium | 77 mg |
Reviews
This cake was delish. I ddidnt have raspberries. I substituted an equal amount of diced strawberries. It was perfect.
This recipe has caused so much emotional turmoil in our household! I have made meringues so many times before, and they always turned out perfectly. I decided to try Giada’s recipe, and everything went wrong. After baking the meringues, brown bubbles formed at the bottom. Also, a sugary syrup leaked out, so the meringues were stuck to the wax paper. The wax paper was even stuck to the tray, so I couldn’t even salvage all of it. I had to abandon my original project and break up the meringues just so we could eat them. This is the last time I use a recipe from Giada!
This dessert is fabulous, different and not too sweet. Everyone loved this and so do I! Followed the recipe to the “T” and it was fab.
What brand of Balsamic Vinegar is Giada using?
I made this with strawberries. For the syrup, I just mixed some strawberry jam and maple syrup. It was not a lot of work, just a lot of time. Thaw slightly before serving. I loved it. It tastes like fruit freshly picked from the garden.
It is not your ordinary every day cake, but the ideas you can get from making this are great. A white cake with this frosting. A white cake with the syrup injected into it. In theory, you could do this recipe with any type of fruit you might want. Lemons, Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries, cantalope … *rubs hands together fiendishly as a mad scientist chef.
Everyone that ate this cake enjoyed it very much. It was a delicious cake–very good–not great, hence the four stars.
The balsamic sauce was absolutely the best. The combination of the raspberry cream, meringue, and sauce were deliciously complementary. The sauce recipe could be cut in half; I was generous with the sauce–I could not imagine using it all on one cake. (It’s a great sauce!
I made the cake the night before and left it in the freezer taking it out about 45 minutes before it was served. Maybe the meringue might be taken out of the oven right after it’s baked? I know from other meringue cookie recipes that leaving it the oven while cooling down is part of the baking process, but this one was a little too firm. I’m unsure if that’s from leaving in the freezer overnight, or from the long period of cool down in the oven.
I evenly split the meringue on the two 8″ round pieces of parchment paper and then spread it out with a small rubber spatula instead of piping.
nom nom…..!! love love love!! especialy as a lemon cake! ;
My desert came out picture perfect. However my guest thought the taste was just “alright”. Part was probably my fault, I served the cake frozen. I should have let it thawed for 20 minutes. Only one out of my six guest liked the syrup. And only one finished eating the desert. I liked the raspberry cream and will make it again. However, I did add ¼ cup of raspberry (seedless jam for more flavor. I probably will not make the desert again. Just not worth all the time and effort. Sorry Giada, still love you.
This dessert is fabulous! The meringue comes out perfect and almost cake-like, and is very easy to make. The rasperry cream tastes like ice cream once it is frozen. The perfect summertime dessert; I could eat the whole cake!
I’ve made meringues before and never had any problem with them cooking in the time indicated but this one wasn’t done after 2 hours at 200 degrees and then 2 more hours left in the oven with it turned off. I drew 8″ circles on parchment paper and divided the meringue evenly so not sure what happened. Had to turn the oven back on for almost another hour and it still wasn’t cook through. Don’t think I’ll be trying this one again. Did enjoy the raspberry whipped cream and will make that again but will put it on the individual meringues next time.